The bump that keeps growing

This was written a few weeks ago but I am now getting around to posting it...

I have never documented my pregnancy's so there is so much that I have forgotten.  Larry will hear me complain about something and he'll say, "I remember you saying that last time."  Really?  I said the same things?  I swear, some of these feelings/discomforts I think I am feeling for the first time.  I guess I really don't remember much.  So, here I am, in an effort to remember what pregnancy is like, I will list a few things that I have noticed.

I don't recall getting Braxton Hicks contractions ALL the time like I have had with this pregnancy.  Everyday, all day long, since around the 20th week I get these contractions.  I get flushed in the face and out of breath with most.  It's more annoying than anything.

I do have a really bad discomfort in my upper abdomen and back.  The doctor thinks it could be my gallbladder but the ultrasound didn't show any signs of stones.  There is another test that can be done but it involves X-ray so it can't be done until after the baby is born.  If the pain is still around after delivery, they will check again.  It could be that the baby is just up in my ribs and pushing on my liver causing the discomfort.  But, whatever the cause, it is killing me!  I never had this pain with the other two boys.  This one definitely is unique and very painful!

With Dresden and Logan I craved meat.  I wanted taco meat with Dresden and steaks with Logan.  This time I crave fruit.  Really, just granny smith apples and pears.  Although, I will never turn away a pineapple.  These fruits seem to taste the best to me.  One day I was making dinner and by the time we were eating I had lost my appetite.  All I wanted was pears so I opened a can of pears and put some in a dish for myself.  As I sat down with my pears Dresden said in a matter of fact tone, "The baby wants what the baby wants."  Sure enough, the baby and I crave fruit.

I am a little crazy when it comes to washing the dishes.  I wash them before I put them in the dishwasher.  I don't recall having such a problem before, it's probably because our sink is much deeper than my old sink, but I can hardly reach the dishes at the bottom of the sink without my belly getting in the way.  It wouldn't be such a problem but it hurts to lean my stomach up against the counter.  So, many times I will go to grab a dish at the bottom of the sink and it will drop out of my hands because I can't reach it well enough to get a good grip on it.  I think I've broken a few bowls and a couple mugs by dropping them.  My growing belly has become a problem but the dishes still get done.

I have only had one really bad leg cramp this pregnancy.  With Dresden I would have them nearly every night.  Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration but I really had them all the time with Dresden.  I have been lucky enough to not get leg cramps this time around...watch, I just jinxed myself. (It is one day before delivery and I still have had only one really bad leg cramp.  It really is a miracle, in my opinion!)

While I was pregnant with Logan I retained water like I was saving up for a drought. I was so puffy and swollen. I remember after delivering Logan, I sat down after taking a shower and noticed that my thighs were thinner. I couldn't believe how swollen I had been and how quickly the water weight was going away. I feel pretty fortunate to not be retaining water like I did last time. I still feel swollen and puffy but it isn't nearly as bad. However, I still have 4 weeks to go. Things can change. (Today is the day before delivery and I am a little swollen, but still nothing like last time.)

In all honesty, this pregnancy really has been an easy one. I don't get sick like most people do. My migraines usually take a 9 month break, although I have had more this pregnancy than I have with the other two combined. My body probably is made to produce lots of little babies but three is good enough for me. It is mentally draining and even though a couple months of discomfort isn't something to complain about, it is more than I like to handle. I am grateful for my two beautiful boys that came to us healthy and strong and I can only hope this third will be just as healthy and strong as his brothers.

One last thing I have to mention. I have been so impressed with how loving the boys have been about their unborn brother. Every time I flinch or make a noise when the baby kicks me Dresden and Logan are quick to make sure I am okay. They lovingly touch my stomach and talk to the baby. Dresden has really acted so much more grown up and is so willing to help me when I ask him. Tonight I thanked him for how helpful he was at the grocery store. He helped push the cart, get the milk, carried bags, all without complaining once. I am so appreciative of his willingness to help me out. I really do have boys that have tender hearts. This, experiencing a pregnancy with my boys, is a wonderful gift that I have adored. I didn't experience anything like this with my last pregnancy and I am so glad that our family has had such a wonderful experience this time.

So, now to completely embarrass myself, I will post a few pictures from the last month. I'll warn you now, there will be a bare naked belly that you may not want to see but for my documentation I wanted a picture of it.

Christmas morning

New Year's Eve

Valentine's Day

Two down, Two to go

How do you know when Logan isn't feeling well?  He tells you when he is ready for bed, climbs into bed without a fuss, and falls asleep immediately.  Logan came home from school looking sickly in the face.  He sat down and trying not to cry said, "My stomach hurts and my head and ears hurt and so does my throat."  Poor guy.    

I'm just hoping that Larry and I won't be the next to fall victim to strep throat.

Boys Will Be Boys...

...Not if I have anything to say about it.  Our boys are notorious for using the bathroom and NOT flushing the toilet.  It is disgusting and it drives me crazy.  I do believe that Logan has a genuine fear of the toilet.  When he was a bit younger he would stand and potty and then lean over to flush the toilet, knocking the seat down and smashing his little guys...OUCH!  He also has a fear of the noise the toilet makes when it flushes and fears that it might splash on him.  They have been taught to close the seat cover before you flush but for some reason they just don't do it.  We have asked, begged, gotten angry, put them in time-out, charged them a quarter, but nothing worked.  One day, Larry had the brilliant idea that whoever doesn't flush the toilet has to clean the toilet and suddenly, toilets were being flushed.  It's a miracle.  There are still days that they don't flush but they have improved 90%!  Why have we not thought of this before?!  

Special Delivery

Today was a "blah" day.  Dresden woke up with a sore throat but luckily he didn't have school so he was able to lounge around the house all day.  As long as he had Tylenol in him he felt pretty well.  When I got home from work I decided to check his throat again.  Yep, there it was in the little craters of his tonsils, puss.  I got on the phone with the doctor and set up an appointment to take him in.  Poor kid was asking why he felt like he was 80 years old.  His muscles were sore and he was light headed from his fever and headache.  The boys and I loaded into the car and headed to the doctor and just like I knew it would be, strep was confirmed.  Off to the pharmacy we went to fill his prescription, waited while some older women complained to the pharmacist, not understanding why her pills were costing her so much ($96 for 15 pills), happily paid my $7 for my prescription, and then drove home.  When I pulled into the driveway I noticed something hiding under the rug at my front door.  Yes!  My special delivery had arrived. 

 

These are the cutest darn shoes ever!  They fit so nicely in the palm of my hand.  I know it is completely silly to buy shoes for an infant but I just couldn't NOT order these shoes.  And, they are much cuter in person.  So, after a "blah" day of work and then coming home to a sick boy, whom I adore and would do anything to help him feel better, I was a bit excited to open my package and pull out these cute little shoes that will soon be fitting on my cute little newcomer. 

Ahoy Matey

I think I've decided to go with a Nautical Theme for the babies room.  I've paid a fortune for baby bedding twice and I've decided I just don't need to pay those prices again.  Therefore, I am digging out the old bedding that I used for Logan and will re-do the theme for Jr. #3. If I were going to spend a fortune again I love this bedding but spending that kind of money on JUST the bumper...I don't think so.

In our old home we had a pretty neutral color palette with the exception of the living room.  Everything was painted "Latte" a color from Sherwin Williams, which I loved, but now we have bold colors in our current home.  I can't decide which way I want to go.

Neutral:

or Bold:

I do know for sure that I would like to put up white wainscoting around the room with the color of choice, navy or latte, on top with white trim on the baseboards and casing. I'd also love to have this painted on the ceiling but then again, that's just me living in a fantasy world.

 Let me add one more item to that fantasy world I'm living in...I'd love the curtains in the above photo, too but I can't find them anywhere on line.  Oo la la, I changed my mind, I think I like these curtains a bit better.  Hey Mom, want a sewing project???

 

May as well add one more item to the list of wishful thinking, this drum shade pendant is rather nice.  Although, I think I'd rather go with a solid navy shade with one large white stripe in the middle.  Overall, I'm liking the idea of it.

The five week count down is on and we still have to finish the "Man Cave" (sheetrock, taping, texturing the ceiling, painting and have the carpet installed) before I can even get started on the babies room.  No worries though, I'm as calm as can be.

Honoring a Man I Loved

I have always said that I never want to participate in speaking at a funeral.  I am a very emotional person and I never thought I would be able to get through a talk about someone I loved but this past week I had the opportunity to get up and say a few things about my Grandpa.  After the fact, I can honestly say that I felt it a privilege to honor my Grandpa.  Brandt and Michael both gave very beautiful prayers that were full of love and of the Spirit and Natalie played a piano solo that was, of course, gorgeous.  A day that I thought would be full of sadness and tears was full of wonderful stories about my Grandpa from the many people that travelled great distances to honor him.  It was a beautiful day to honor a beautiful man.

The talk I gave...
As grandkids we will always cherish our memories of time spent with Grandpa and Grandma. In the early years we spent the weekends at their home in Rose Park. We would ride our bikes around the block and pass the circus house, play croquet in the back yard, eat raspberries off the raspberry bushes in their garden, go for motorcycle rides with Grandpa, and sneak candy from the bottom drawer. As we got older Grandpa and Grandma would take us two at a time and visit destinations like Yellow Stone, Jackson Hole, and Mt. Rushmore. Grandpa taught us how Yellow Stone got its name, it’s because a bear pee’d on a rock. He also taught us the valuable lesson to never kick a buffalo pie. It may be hard and crusty on the outside but it’s soft and squishy on the inside. We spent many hours in the camper and truck traveling to their favorite places. We learned the names of wild flowers and finished many word search books. Grandpa’s love of traveling has taken them across thousands of miles of highway. In their hallway hangs a large map of the United States. Grandpa has marked every highway they have driven on. I think their biggest driving accomplishment was making the drive to Alaska and exploring the beauties of that area. I remember them telling us that they wrote down the number of miles they had driven on the back of their truck in the dirt and cars passing by would honk and give their congrats on their accomplishment for driving such a far distance. Every time he visited Natalie and Jay in Eastern Colorado he commented on how much he loved the country out that way. It reminded him of the time when he used to drive a truck. This past fall my parents were able to take my Grandparents to Yellowstone one last time. Something that I know my Grandpa appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.


The great-grandkids have loved spending time in Ephraim as well. They always look forward to riding the four wheelers and going past the tree where Grandpa once saw a bear. Grandpa carved his initials in a tree where he saw the bear and I’m pretty sure one day, when the tree falls down, we will cut the carving out of the tree and keep it here at the house. The kids love to explore the corral and shoot the bb guns. All the things we loved doing when we were younger.

Grandpa loved sitting on the porch watching the hummingbirds and listening to the wind blow through the trees. When he wasn’t on the porch he was taking Nippy for a ride on his four-wheeler, going for a walk up the canyon road, or on a day trip in the car with Grandma. He loved everything about nature and being a part of it. He loved taking his fishing boat out on Strawberry and fishing. I’m sure he and Grandma have caught thousands of fish through out the years. Brandt got to spend many birthdays on the mountain deer hunting with Grandpa, Dad, and Michael. Every year they planned their hunting trips and even though they didn’t always come home with a kill I know they enjoyed their time spent together.

Grandpa had a tough exterior. He expected much but also appreciated much. In the past few years he had expressed to me many times how proud he was of Dad. Proud of how much he has accomplished in his life and the wonderful family and wife he has. Grandpa taught Dad a strong work ethic that I believe Dad has passed on to us kids and I hope we are passing on the same Strong work ethic to our kids.

He also expressed to me his great love and appreciation for Grandma. What a good wife she has been to him all these years. He loved you very much Grandma and you are an amazing woman for being able to help sustain Grandpa these past few years. You never complained and did what you had to do to help Grandpa. We love you grandma for the love and compassion you showed grandpa. We appreciate the example you are to us and hope that in our marriages we can have the same love and commitment that you and Grandpa have had.

We would also like to give a special thank you to all those that have helped Grandpa and Grandma, especially Steve & Joyce Olsen and Milt Two. We appreciate the love and compassion and support you have shown our grandparents. We can’t express how much we appreciate your service and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We love you Grandpa and can’t wait until we see you again.

I love you and will miss you, Grandpa!

What's that on my foot?

I might have burped in the bathroom while Logan took a shower.

Logan: "Dad I think your burp got on my foot cuse now it itches and I don't wanna get a (di)sease on my foot."

Just another one of Logan's classic moments.